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The DNR officer and one person who was in the pontoon boat were ejected into the water. They and two other people who were in the pontoon boat were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, McCullough said.

He said the officer was out on the lake patrolling for Memorial Day.

A witness told WYFF that the DNR boat hit the pontoon boat while coming out of a blind curve on the Cane Creek Channel, but that information has not been confirmed by officials.

The investigation into what happened continues, McCullough said.

Dianne Collins’ husband and daughter heard the impact of the collision from their home and watched the DNR boat whiz past the family’s dock without its driver.

The boat eventually stopped when it crashed into the bank, Collins said.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh my gosh, was anybody really hurt?’ People had gotten thrown off boats. I had never experienced that. I was just really glad that it ended up -- it could have ended up so much worse,” Collins said.

Collins said people often speed through that area of the lake without realizing there’s a sharp S-curve.

“It just goes to show it’s just a really difficult, dangerous curve, so no one is beyond falling into trouble there, so it started to make me think about how unsafe it is,” Collins said. “Hopefully, this will get some inspiration down there to get some more safety down there to get people to slow down. A no-wake zone or something.”